18.02.01

Newton Dances: Contact Improv dancers might want to make a note of the Canadian Stage performance of ‘He Who Falls’ happening in March, in Toronto. The french troupe 7 Fingers will be in town to explore the relationship between gravitational pull and human movement. It’s the way your high school physics class should have been but never was.

Mini Raga: Here’s a modified/modernized sitar that you can make at home, though don’t expect to have it done in time for dinner. More importantly, is to listen to this short performance by Fred Westra and get in touch with the virtual vibration. Enjoy!

Questionable Steps: Dance Ontario’s annual gathering of troupes from across the province happened recently, and there’s no denying the powerful experience of seeing so many great performances over the course of a single weekend. It was a wonderful showcase, and passionately organized. Everything from Arabesque to the abstract was on stage, including some controversial content that had audience members squirming in their seats. The use of nudity is nothing new to modern dance, and done consciously and sensitively, can be a powerful learning experience. Gratuitous nudity, on the contrary, often hides behind the mantle of progress, commentary and liberation, to scintiallate for economic reasons, and/or for teachers to engage students in lascivious ways. If you sense this is the motivation, do a very un-Canadian thing, and withhold your applause out of protest. Otherwise, the DA weekend is not to be missed.

Regress: The once vibrant Roncesvalles Polish Village in Toronto has withered under the onslaught of the real estate grab, causing the deli’s, of which there were many, to be reduced to one. The last to shutter the doors caused many of the locals to cry in front of the store. In it’s place, we can pretty much guarantee another precious hipster bistro that pays homage to the neighborhood by having an entree of 5 perogies on a spacious square plate for no less than $25.00. It’s time to lay off the Susurian pretense and start feeding people again.

Sartorial Prisons: The urban wardrobe is codified for success, and conformity to the limited styles must be adhered to if you don’t want to end up living in a refrigerator box. The corporate commuter shown in this photo likely wants to break free and live again, and the local headline is there to remind him of what might be missing from his life.

Poetic Break: There’s much to be said for the power of a word and the combinations thereof. If almonds could fly, they would most certainly be the butterflies of the nut family, and might fly off the plate. Most of the baking at Almond Butterfly does fly off the plate, and that’s a feat for things gluten-free. Nestled in Toronto’s Harbord district, this tiny oasis provides a lot of warmth and nourishment on a cold winter’s day.

Dream-waves: Last night you were dreaming, and even the dreams entered into dreams. They are speaking to you and you are not listening, but you should. When the morning arrives it’s easy to turn on the talk radio station and fall into the misophonic noise of the day, but what you should be doing is reflecting on your recent journey. Gaia media in Germany has a great selection of books, as you will see, but focus on The Transformational Power of Dreaming and begin to use your dreams as a spiritual GPS.

Mental Thaw: If you’re retrieving your frozen long-johns from the clothesline but wishing you were basking in tropical sunshine south of the equator, this little journal entry sent to us from travel writer, Joni-Mae, could help warm the spirit temporarily. She’s fresh from a Moon gathering in Goa, and took a few minutes to type this out for us. Wishing we were there to dance along.

Dance Battle: With sexual harassment allegations rippling through the dance community, some are describing the opponents as insurgents and denialists. The former being those who want better safety measures and accountability from the organizers, and the latter who believe the ‘institution’ is all-knowing and deserving of impunity. While much of the spot light is focused on Contact Improv and other forms of dance based on consensual body contact, the problem is endemic in all genres, and deserving of greater dialogue. For newcomers to dance, it’s not easy to navigate the options, and NHC will be providing some guidance in future issues to help you decide what dance groups offer the most conscious environments.

Apple-Jam Tribute: For Ontario-ians of the natural food era of the 60’s and forward, most are familiar and thankful for the wonderful go-to apple products that arrived weekly from Ayton. That’s the home of Filsinger Organic Foods, one of the most loved farms to ever cater to independent health food stores in our province. Alvin Filsinger was a spry and happy man who was not unlike good ol’ Johnny Appleseed, delivering truckloads of apples, apple-butters, sauces and cider vinegar into the city at the crack of dawn. The orchard is still thriving under the direction of his sons, and the unique flavors are just as good as ever. Take a look at their site to see what they have in store.

Ecstatic Tip #36; The Ban: Like any social event, or ride on a subway, there always seems to be that one unstable element that appears out of nowhere and causes discomfort to the other patrons. Perhaps they forgot to take their medication, or the medication has yet to find them. It’s a situation that requires psychic martial arts – engaging the adversary carefully, but being prepared to restrain violence should the need arise. The more conscious approach is to not swiftly resist the individual by proclaiming a ban on their presence which could create a long term problem. Go slow, ask questions, find out what their issue is, but send a signal to your assistants to keep a peripheral eye open should the situation escalate.

Science-ology: Milton Dawes returns to discuss the conundrum of responsible science. With progress generally funded by multinationals with not-so-ethical intentions, it’s easy for young scientists to quickly toss morals aside in favor of career hubris. Milton suggests that we start paying attention to what we are doing. Read more at the rocket.

Euro-Truckin’: If you happen to be in the Tramontina Valley region of Friuli this summer, a landscape often referred to as the Valley of the Sunsets, you might want to book ahead to take advantage of the wonderful Sonica Festival scheduled for July. It’s a soulful gathering with a big cosmic logo that captures the spirit, so take a click to find a blissful face looking back at you. High marks for conscious aesthetics!

People outside of Toronto often hear word of the Big Carrot, a food store that set the standard for how to integrate the community into a healthy shopping experience. It’s been a hub for years and a source of pride for those who live in the Danforth district. They’ve undergone a complete re-design of their store layout, and while it might have lost that farmers market vibe, the people who run it and work there are just as passionate as day one. Their online site will give you an idea of what goes on there, which is plenty.

Book of Tasks: That’s the title of the latest book published by frequent NHC contributor, Christopher Spranger, and in a very unbiased way we recommend this for anyone who is a seeker of wisdom and profound thought. While he never shies away from the sad realities of our shared existence, his deep humanity allows us to see rays of hope and possibility, enough to anticipate each and every word that he gifts to the world. Book Of Tasks is now available on Kindle via Christopher’s website. Click the icon to read more.

All Of This Life: One more customary music break for the February edition, and this features an artist familiar to many on the transformational fest circuit. Simrit Kaur, provides a stark contrast to the assaulting noise of modern music media, with a voice that inspires one to connect deep within and approach life from the core of being. Listen at the the ‘headspace’ icon.

Sacred Med: The go-to solution for every medical problem appears to be prescription opioids, a word that conjures den’s of addicted souls lost in a miasma of smoke. That’s not so far from the truth, and it’s a sign of another epidemic in our society. People laugh at natural options, but the laughter is beginning to subside as people are discovering the truth about big-Pharma. Any option to these dependencies are worth looking into, and so lend your eye to the sacred geometry of a Clear Sphere, which may be a thought in the right direction,…but you can decide for yourself.

Buy This ‘Redux’: Back by popular demand, here’s one more look at a short film by animator/social commentator, Steve Cutts, that turns the cloying escapism of Mouse-land on it’s head. It’s a frank statement about consumerism and what it truly amounts to in our brainwashed society. Highly recommended!

Bogus-Pocus: Now that the internet has been reduced to approximately 24 sites worth visiting, 25 if you count the one with the formidable flower power logo, you’re probably curious to know what neo-news you’ve been missing that would help to spice up your water-cooler banter. We did the work for you, and now here’s the major story of the day, which is so ubiquitous that it appears timeless. Headline: Japan’s Richest Man bets $100B on New Technology.A “terrifying” new technology has investors anxious to get in early, especially a crazy Japanese businessman willing to bet it all on the future. That’s right, he’s so mad, he’s so crazy, that he’s sharing his money-making secrets with you!! It’s tamas news, par usual, with not a golden egg to be found.

Eat Your Carrots: Anything that would make Toronto’s elections more fair, diverse, inclusive, and friendly is worth mentioning here, unless of course your political career is in the pockets of the land developers and you’d prefer not to acknowledge the options. For NHC readers, we recommend jumping over to the RaBIT website and learning more about an inspired group bringing about political change.

In its first year, New Human City published articles and columns every week. The Best of mE brings back the more popular mildly ECSTATIC columns, unedited, as they appeared from October 2016 to October 2017. Here’s an article that asks to consider the importance of maintaining resolution amidst the onslaught of jading negativity. Enjoy!

Not Flying Geese: From the Women’s Visionary Council we offer you a quick tour of Martina Hoffman’s paintings. Masterly technique aside, her work is a journey that invites your attention and draws you into the zephyrous realm of unleashed dreaming. Enjoy and be inspired.

Blight: With advertecture beginning to dominate the urban landscape and buildings becoming nothing more than structures to support billboards, we we’re reminded of an article we published last year by Klein Davis who managed to summarize this sad phenomena very well. Click the mournful eye to read more.